Chapter 59

Gentle water flow circled the girl's neck, full of fine blood holes. The youth's brows grew heavier.

"We were still too late... I'm sorry."

Ye Zheng touched the girl's pale, cold, and clammy face, closed her vacant eyes, and together with Bai Muqing carried her body away from this eerie red forest. They placed her in a barren underground cave, at least allowing the girl to leave this world with dignity.

"May the God of Hope bless you and grant you a fulfilling next life."

Bai Muqing closed her eyes and murmured softly. 

After an Aberrant Realm disappears, no one knows whether these alien spaces truly vanish or are merely driven out of this world. In any case, people who die inside an Aberrant Realm disappear along with it. Their loved ones cannot even see the body one last time.

The only exception was the Aberrant Realm from ten years ago. In the moment it vanished, a sea of blood surged out.

The youth suddenly turned back and removed a silver necklace from the girl's body. It was still stained with blood. She thought that, at the very least, she should leave some trace of the girl's existence.

Pocketing the ordinary yet precious necklace, Ye Zheng suddenly remembered the golden-haired girl who also clearly came from the lower district.

In the manga spoilers, she had said she resented her since ten years ago. That could only be because of that incident... Ye Zheng still could not figure out why she was resented. Perhaps when she met Sela again here, she would get the answer.

"She just mentioned Sykes. It sounds like even he may have met with misfortune."

Bai Muqing said.

"That would be troublesome. If even Sykes cannot handle this Aberrant Realm, unless a person favored by heaven like the God of Hope appears."

Bai Muqing noticed that Ye Zheng's tone did not sound particularly worried. When she mentioned a person favored by heaven, it did not seem like a joke. Instead, there was a calm certainty.

Ye Zheng did not believe Sykes would meet his end. He was one of the most important characters in this manga. If he were trapped, there was only one possible plot development: Sykes had to step aside for the true protagonist of this world.

『You guessed right!』

The system's voice suddenly popped up.

『Sykes's conceptual ability is very overpowered. The author could not figure out how to give Pei Xi the greatest spotlight in resolving the Aberrant Realm while Sykes was still present, so he could only temporarily weaken Sykes.』

It seemed Sykes's treatment was not great either. However, compared to her, the female lead set up like a fragile flower vase, Sykes was at least a diamond-encrusted one.

As dusk fell, the two youths walked cautiously through the forest that blocked out the sky. They circled the edge of that eerie tender red forest, observing as they went. Both tacitly agreed that the depths of that forest must be the core of this Aberrant Realm.

"It is too late. Let us find a place to rest first."

The youth suddenly suggested. Her pair of illusory green eyes appeared especially deep in the nighttime forest.

Bai Muqing was stunned for a moment upon hearing Ye Zheng's words. She furrowed her white brows. "I thought you wanted to resolve this quickly."

The most direct way to rescue her brother and the others was to destroy the core of the Aberrant Realm. Once it disappeared, they would naturally be safe. This was the best plan Bai Muqing had come up with.

Ye Zheng did not speak for a moment. She had Bai Muqing wait in place, then walked alone into the normal forest and returned carrying a wild rabbit.

She threw the wild rabbit into that forest which seemed to breathe. The rabbit hopped a few times inside, approaching a tender red tree. Suddenly, a branch extended like a snake, silently approaching the rabbit.

The branch encircled its body, coiling and wriggling over the rabbit. The branch's color seemed to slowly deepen, undulating in satisfaction. Suddenly, the rabbit was forcibly pulled out by invisible water threads and gently placed into a warm embrace.

"They attack living creatures. That is not surprising."

Bai Muqing stared expressionlessly at the rabbit in Ye Zheng's arms, touched its fluffy fur, and added, "It seems there is nothing particularly special."

Ye Zheng held the rabbit by its ears, relaxed and petted it twice. "Nothing particularly special. So why would Sykes encounter misfortune?"

"He may not be dead yet. The word 'misfortune' is not quite appropriate."

Bai Muqing corrected, then added, "He must have gone deeper into this forest and encountered something even more dangerous inside."

Ye Zheng shook her head. "Before she died, that girl said Sykes could not escape either. I think it is very likely that she saw Sykes before she was captured. That is why, even as her consciousness faded, the memory remained so vivid."

"She was an ordinary person. The places she could reach are about the same as this rabbit. She should have been caught at the edge of the forest."

"You mean Sykes was captured before he even went deep into this red forest?"

Bai Muqing rarely raised her cool voice. It sounded somewhat incredulous.

"With his power, that is impossible."

If there was an especially powerful creature hiding deep in the forest that could suppress Sykes, Bai Muqing would believe it. But at the edge like this, where even Ye Zheng could easily rescue the entangled rabbit, how could Sykes fall in a place like this?

"There are indeed no powerful Aberrant Realm creatures here yet."

"But what if there is an especially powerful ability user who wants him dead?"

When Ye Zheng's words fell, Bai Muqing instinctively parted her lips slightly before pressing them tight again. She suddenly remembered why Sykes had entered the Aberrant Realm.

That matter could be concealed from ordinary people, but not from nobles like them. The people in the upper district were all worried. Just how powerful must someone be to infiltrate Sykes's room without a sound and openly provoke a triple-S-class powerhouse?

Such a person was in this Aberrant Realm, and she had actually overlooked this equally potentially fatal danger.

Ye Zheng's gaze patrolled around. She walked around this area not only to observe the eerie forest. If someone wanted to break through this Aberrant Realm, they would inevitably approach this forest. So if that person's goal was to kill all ability users who entered...

Sykes's ability was very powerful, but if he lost his ability, he would be nothing.

Ye Zheng understood this point. That was why she was wary of him, yet she did not regard him as a true threat worth special defense against.

The wind howled mournfully. The blood curtain hung high. Bai Muqing had never been so tense. Malicious human hearts and cruel alien creatures watched them like tigers eyeing prey.

A pair of hands patted her stiff shoulders. Ye Zheng's slightly hoarse voice softened. "So, we might as well find a place to rest first."

Listening to Ye Zheng's voice, Bai Muqing inexplicably relaxed a little inside, but immediately felt a trace of shame for it.

How could she relax just because the person beside her was strong enough? Ye Zheng was very smart and vigilant. Even though she already knew Ye Zheng's true identity, in front of her, Ye Zheng still maintained a modified voice.

The white-haired, white-eyed girl kept a solemn face as she followed behind the tall youth. Her white pupils became even emptier, silently gathering power.

Ye Zheng found a spot near the river that was relatively flat. Then she took out a long tubular bag from her backpack.

Bai Muqing's gaze stared into the distant, ethereal depths of the forest. However, the images transmitted to her brain were exceptionally broad. 【Divine Domain】 did not need to be actively deployed. It was like a naturally beating pulse integrated into her body. Through 【Divine Domain】, she could even "see" the surroundings in three hundred sixty degrees, though in a somewhat blurry form.

Therefore, when she noticed Ye Zheng taking out a strange long object, she had no idea what it was.

Ye Zheng noticed that Bai Muqing's usually cold face seemed to carry a hint of confusion. She explained proactively. "This is a sleeping bag. I heard it is quite useful outdoors."

In fact, the system had told her about it. This world did not have such things as sleeping bags. She had them specially custom-made based on the system's description.

Made with down feathers and other highly compressible synthetic materials, it could provide them some warmth in the forest nights when temperatures dropped sharply. Although ability users generally had better physical constitutions, considering they might have to stay for several days, Ye Zheng felt it was still very necessary to bring such items.

"...Your bag really is full of strange things."

Seeing Ye Zheng actually take out another one from her bag, Bai Muqing's expression became even stranger. She asked, "Why did you bring two?"

Ye Zheng thought that she had considered Lu Qi probably could not custom-order such a thing, so she brought an extra one. But answering that it was for Lu Qi did not seem appropriate now.

"Better safe than sorry."

Ye Zheng tossed the long bag to Bai Muqing. The other caught the sleeping bag. Suddenly, Bai Muqing's face became even stiffer. Her white pupils stared straight ahead, exceptionally sharp.

The black-haired, green-eyed youth wondered if she had somehow offended Bai Muqing's taboo. She took a few steps toward Bai Muqing, then suddenly seemed to sense something and stopped.

"What an interesting thing! Give me one!"

Ye Zheng turned her head. A pair of scarlet eyes, red as intense as the blood-colored light curtain, suddenly pressed close to her face, blinking at her.

Two pairs of unusually colored eyes confronted each other in the pitch-black night, like two leaping flames.

The youth suddenly curved her green eyes, leaned her body slightly forward, and unconcernedly moved even closer to the golden-haired girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

The green eyes were exceptionally patient and gentle. Yet, upon closer inspection, the pupils subtly constricted with sharpened focus, like a seasoned hunter calmly waiting for prey that had finally stepped within range.

“Alright. If you do not mind squeezing in with me.”

The blond girl abruptly jumped back, her voice thick with undisguised revulsion.

“Who would ever want to squeeze in with a stinky man!” 

“You actually dare to harass me!”

Ye Zheng quietly waited as the stream of water gathered in her palm gradually dispersed. The earlier clash had been far too rushed. She had not come close to fully grasping Sela’s ability. It was impossible that Sela could nullify another person’s power at will. There had to be a specific trigger condition.

However, the blond girl before her angrily stomped her feet and launched into a loud tirade, hurling curses at the “stinky man” standing in front of her. Ye Zheng was submerged beneath a relentless flood of insults, yet she quickly realized that the ability coursing through her body remained untouched.

A faint trace of doubt flickered through Ye Zheng’s eyes. Was it because Sela chose not to nullify her ability, or was distance not the determining factor for triggering it?

Her gaze shifted slightly. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Bai Muqing standing completely motionless. At this moment, the other girl’s complexion was deathly pale and weighed down with something heavy.

It appeared that Bai Muqing’s ability had been nullified.

Ye Zheng’s eyes locked firmly onto Sela, who was still cursing in front of her. Instead of clarity, confusion only deepened. She understood this girl even less now.

Fortunately, her own ability remained intact. The river lay close at hand. In this environment, she could fully exploit her advantage.

The current at her fingertips was on the verge of quietly spilling forth, but Ye Zheng abruptly withdrew her power. 【Stream】 concealed itself once more, leaving no trace behind.

No. Before she fully understood Sela’s ability, it was best to conserve her own strength.

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Authors Note  

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Being cursed at as a man was the worst scolding Zhengzheng had ever endured……